JI Leader Escapes

Mas Selamat bin Kastari, the alleged head of the Singapore branch of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), has escaped prison. The Indonesian-born Kastari had allegedly planned to crash a hijacked passenger aircraft into Singapore's Changi airport in 2001. Following his extradition from Indonesia in 2006, he had been detained under Singapore's internal security act, which allows indefinite detention without a trial. However it is unlikely that a terrorist incident is imminent so this has no effect on our short-term political risk rating. Singapore is viewed as a terrorist target as it is a base for multinational companies and enjoys a close relationship with the US.

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